A Glimpse Into A Future We Lost

Flying cars, jetpacks, and abundant clean energy were once imagined as inevitable milestones of the 21st century. Why are they still nowhere in sight? In Where Is My Flying Car?, Dr. J. Storrs Hall confronts this question head-on. He argues that technological progress was not derailed by a lack of innovation, but by a societal shift away from ambition and risk.

This is not a work of speculative fiction or fantasy. It is a sharp and well-documented account of how political, cultural, and institutional forces have gradually constrained humanity’s technological trajectory. And while Hall's vision can, at times, appear overly optimistic, many of his arguments are grounded in compelling historical examples and serious concern about the erosion of progress.

The Innovation Slowdown

Dr. Hall begins by revisiting the optimism of the mid-20th century, when engineers, scientists, and science fiction writers alike anticipated a future defined by radical transformation, one in which flying cars, self-replicating nano technology machines, and limitless nuclear energy would revolutionize everyday life. The theoretical frameworks and even early experimental models for many of these technologies existed. Yet they never reached the mainstream.

Hall posits that the barriers were not technological, but institutional. The dominant explanation is not that we couldn’t build these things, but that we chose not to. The cultural climate became more cautious, more risk-averse, and more entangled in bureaucracy and regulatory friction. Where the spirit of the 1960s encouraged "moonshots" and bold experimentation, the post-1970s period has been defined by what Hall considers a stagnation in ambition.

The Machiavelli Effect

A central and particularly compelling idea in Hall’s argument is the concept he refers to as the Machiavelli Effect. Based on the Renaissance thinker’s observation that innovators will always find themselves opposed by those who benefit most from the existing order, Hall applies this insight to modern institutions. Innovation, especially the kind that disrupts existing markets or power structures, tends to generate resistance. It is not a matter of ignorance or fear among the public, it is a matter of vested interests protecting their domain.

This idea finds real-world parallels in the energy sector. Nuclear energy, once heralded as the future of clean and abundant power, has faced decades of opposition and stagnation. Hall attributes this largely to the entrenched interests of environmental lobbies, fossil fuel industries, and regulatory bodies that have more to lose than gain from rapid disruption. This is not to suggest that caution or regulation is inherently bad, but Hall makes a persuasive case that such systems have grown excessively defensive, preserving the status quo at the cost of progress.

Environmentalism and Risk Aversion

Hall devotes considerable attention to the cultural shift that accompanied the environmental movement. He acknowledges that early environmentalism served a critical role in preventing pollution and protecting natural ecosystems. However, he argues that it has since evolved into what he calls a “green religion”, a dogmatic worldview that regards large-scale technological solutions with deep suspicion, regardless of their potential to do good.

This criticism is not entirely unfounded. Much of the opposition to nuclear energy, for example, has been driven more by fear and public perception than by objective risk assessments. Hall laments that many promising technologies were essentially abandoned not because they were dangerous, but because they were politically inconvenient.

Still, the book occasionally risks minimizing the valid concerns that accompany rapid technological change. Ethical, environmental, and economic considerations should not be dismissed as irrational or anti-progress. The challenge lies in distinguishing between necessary caution and unproductive obstructionism.

Could We Have Had Flying Cars?

After it all, Dr. Hall maintains that personal air vehicles, including flying cars and jetpacks, were well within our grasp by the latter half of the 20th century. The basic physics, engineering principles, and early prototypes already existed. *It is incredibly frustrating that exclusively due to the entrenched ways of the people in power that we have missed out on such great technological advancements. *

While it is fair to acknowledge the real difficulties involved in integrating flying cars into modern cities—such as traffic control, noise, and safety, we never seriously tried. The cultural environment had shifted. What had once been seen as aspirational was now viewed as reckless.

Whether every person would own a flying car today is debatable, but more important to understand is that the future is not defined by technical possibility alone, but by the willingness of a society to pursue it. If we stay stagnant and choose to not want anything different, nothing will ever change. It is up to us to determine our own futures and destiny.